Flash
by FilmGrrl99
Summary: Agents Scully and Mulder investigate a series of murders where the victims are severely burned.


Found this story I wrote way back from when I was 13, at the beginning of my X-Phile years. Decided to repost for nostalgia.

This is my second attempt at X-Files fan-fiction, my first attempt was

pretty pathetic and unworthy of being called XF fan-fiction, so all your

praises, flames, corrections, etc. are welcome. Also I realize that the

X-Files, Dana Scully, and Fox Mulder belong to Chris Carter and Ten-

Thirteen Productions and FOX Broadcasting and I used them without

permission. No copyright infringement intended.

FLASH

By: FilmGrrl99

(© 09/04/95)

New York City

11:21 pm

The cold winter wind whipped his face mercilessly. The air was thick

and he was forced to sit down to rest. The bench wasn't exactly the

safest place, but he didn't feel like walking to the small cafe a block

and a half away. He watched an orange cat run out of a nearby alley.

It jumped onto a garbage can and ran into the street. A car came by

and swerved to miss it. The car drove into a puddle and splashed the

cat with oily brown water. The cat hissed and ran into a sewer.

Two rather tall muscular men, both in black, sat at either side of him

on the bench. The one told him to get up the other shoved a gun into

his ribs. He complied and followed the leader into an alley. The

leader then abruptly turned around and punched him in the face. The

other came, took his wallet out, and hit him with the butt of his gun.

Both ran off. Pierce Bryson recovered immediately from the blows

and walked out of the alley. He could see his attackers running down

the sidewalk.

Pierce felt his hands tighten as he watched them run. His eyes

followed them, glaring. Every muscle in his body tightened as he

stood there rigid. His face broke out in a sweat as he concentrated

hard on what he was about to do. His eyes, now wide with anger,

darted to the lamppost light. The light exploded and a blue/white

surge of electricity came from the bulb striking the two men and

holding them in place as the electricity ran through their bodies killing

them slowly. They both yelled blood curdling screams as the beam

encircled their bodies. The two then stopped moving and the beam

vanished leaving the streets deadly quiet.

Pierce slowly walked over to the men. They had scorch marks all over

their faces and, Pierce suspected, all over their bodies. He turned one

of the men over, spotted his wallet, and took it back. Then, after

looking in both directions for any witnesses, ran across the now empty

road and headed down the street in the opposite direction.

New York City

10:30 am

"The 911 call came in at about 1 am this morning. At first I thought it

was just some suicide because there were no bullet wounds, no

apparent weapons anywhere, and there is that window," Police

Lieutenant Mason gestured to a window in an apartment 30 feet above

them.

"But?"

"But not many people decide to burn themselves before jumping out of

windows," the Lt. gestured to the scorch marks on the bodies.

"Whoa, Scully want to take a look at this?"

The female agent pushed her way through the crowd of people that the

police were having a hard time keeping back, and kneeled down by

one of the bodies. "It's almost like they've been electrocuted. Fire

doesn't leave these kind of burn marks."

"Um, there is just one strange thing though. This lamppost, the bulb

exploded."

"What's so strange about that?" The female agent seemed somewhat

bored as she and her partner gazed at the light.

"Well usually when a bulb explodes it doesn't take the glass cover with

it."

The two agents looked and sure enough there were the remnants of

glass still attached to the lamppost. The Lt. watched as the male

agent's eyes scoured the ground looking for the pieces of glass.

"Still this couldn't have caused the two men's death. Who lives in that

apartment?" the male agent asked pointing at the building. There was

only one window on the entire building that faced the sidewalk where

the men were killed.

"Empty. However, we could go talk to the landlord. Maybe one of the

other residents heard something." The two agents followed the Lt.

into the building.

As it turned out the landlord heard nothing, but one of the residents

thought she heard screaming outside. When she went out to

investigate all she saw was the back of a man running down the street.

"I thought I was just hallucinating and I went back to bed," she

continued.

"Did you see what he was wearing, what color his hair was?" Mulder

questioned.

"No, it was dark out. I didn't see and bodies either. I wasn't really

looking."

The Lt. thanked the woman and left. Both Mulder and Scully

followed.

"Not much to go on," the Lt. admitted.

"Well, I think we'll have a little more information after Agent Scully

performs the autopsy." Mulder looked to Scully, who nodded

acceptingly.

NY Bus Station

11:15 am

Bryson bent down to tie his shoe, he had to leave before the police

found him. He checked his ticket. 11:30 bus to Trenton, NJ. Not the

greatest place in the world, but at least he could hide out there and plot

his next move. He checked his watch for the ump-teenth time in the

past five minutes. 11:15 Damn, it's still not here.

Bryson sat down on a bench next to an elderly man. He must have

scared the old guy because he immediately got up to leave, his cane

accidently smashing Pierce's foot.

"Ouch," Pierce rubbed his foot in pain, the old guy not even

apologizing. A slight twinge of anger formed in Bryson's head and at

that moment a light overhead shattered, hitting the old man.

The old man, shaking in terror, collapsed to the floor almost in tears.

Two security guards, who had witnessed the scene, rushed to the bench

and took Bryson by his arms and began to drag him to the security

booth.

Oh god not now. I've got to get out of here he thought. They had just

rounded the corner and ahead lay a long deserted hallway. He

concentrated on the lights just above them. There was a loud shatter

and pieces of the light came falling down. Both guards let go of

Bryson and covered their heads with their hand. Bryson stood up and

glanced at the security camera concentrating on the side of it as it

moved away from him, he then shifted his gaze to the light and

watched as a blue/white lightning beam spewed out encircling the

guards in its deadly grasp.

The guards put up much more of a fight that the thugs did a day

earlier. One guard reached for his gun and probably would have shot

it if Bryson hadn't plucked it out of his hand.

As Pierce ran in the other direction he could still see the surprised look

on the guard's face as his gun floated in the air toward Bryson's

outstretched hand. As he stopped briefly at the corner to catch his

breath, he wondered what had gone through the guards' heads just

before they died. Looking down at his hand, he saw he was still

holding the guard's gun. He quickly shoved it into the waistband of

his jeans. He checked his watch again 11:25. Running toward the

bus, he checked his pocket for the ticket. It wasn't there. Damn I

must have dropped it in the hall he thought. He looked back. It would

be too dangerous to retrieve it. He bit his lip trying to think of what to

do. He raced toward the ticket counter. He was relieved to see that

there was a different ticket seller and no line.

"The eleven thirty bus to Trenton, please."

Office of Lt. Mason

11:30 am

"The autopsy confirms our earlier suspicions: these men were

electrocuted. Not only that, but pieces of the glass from the light were

found burrowed deep in their skin," Scully said tossing the report on

the Lt.'s desk.

"The glass could have entered them from falling on it," the Lt. offered.

"Yeah, but how could they possibly get electrocuted?" Mulder seemed

puzzled.

"There's no proof that they actually died at that spot. The woman said

she didn't see any bodies, they could have-" before Scully could finish

an officer came running into the office.

"Sir, there's been another murder."

NY Bus Station

11:50 am

Scully was amazed at how someone could kill out in the open like this

without worrying about people seeing or even the security cameras,

which were all over the place. As they rounded the corner, the stench

of burnt flesh became apparent. Then they came to the bodies. Scorch

marks infested both faces. There were blood stains on their uniforms

and both their mouths were open as if they were screaming. It wasn't

a pretty sight.

"What's that, that paper under them?" Mulder reached under one

guard and removed what had caught his eye.

"It looks like a bus ticket," Scully observed.

The Lt. took a closer look. "Looks like he was headed to Jersey."

Mulder looked up to see the broken lights. He looked behind him and

saw the security camera, a smile creeping over his lips as he

whispered, "We've got him."

Security Booth

12:00 pm

"They reported a guy attacking an elderly man. They said they were

taking him up front for questioning," the guard informed them as he

rewound through the camera's tape.

"Do you know where that man is now?"

"Who that old guy? No. After Bill and Marty were found, I sent a

couple more guys out after him. Nothing. Okay here you go. This is

before they came down the hall," he stopped rewinding the tape and let

it play.

Mulder watched as three men walked down the hall, he watched the

glass come down, and one man break free. Then suddenly the camera

moved almost like it had been pushed. The camera didn't move back

for another three minutes, then rotated toward the two dead bodies, the

attacker gone.

"Can we get an accurate picture of the guy?" asked the Lt.

The guard rewound the tape and put it into slow motion as he played

it. "No . He kept his back to the camera. When we did get a shot of

him, it was a side shot, and his hair seems to distort the picture so we

can't really see his face."

"I want that camera dusted for prints," Mulder told the Lt.

"What? Why? He couldn't have reached the camera, it's too high up."

"Could you just please do it?" Mulder gave the Lt. that warning look.

The Lt. matched the look then turned away carrying out Mulder's

order and muttering something about bossy Federal Agents.

"Mulder. . . ," Scully started.

"It's just a thought. You saw how that camera had been moved. It

didn't turn back until the killer had escaped."

"It could have been a malfunction in the equipment."

"Maybe, but at least this was we'll be sure."

He turned back to the guard. "Can you radio the bus going to New

Jersey and warn the driver of a possible killer on the bus and tell him

to take his time? Tell him we'll keep him posted and he might have to

turn around."

The guard nodded and picked up the radio.

C'mon Scully let's see how the Lt.'s doing."

As Mulder and Scully rounded the corner, the Lt. came running up

with a huge smile on his face.

"We've found a print! I sent it to the office to get identified."

"Are you sure it's not an employee's fingerprint?"

"No one is supposed to touch the cameras, but we are checking just in

case and we should have the results soon."

"Good. The guard is radioing the driver and warning him."

Security Booth

12:30 pm

"Good news Agent Mulder, we have a positive identification and a

picture of the guy." The Lt. handed Mulder the picture. "His name's

Pierce Bryson."

Mulder looked at it, then showed it to Scully. "Take this and go ask

the ticket sellers if they saw this man." She took it and left. Mulder

watched her go then said," Did either of the guards have a missing

gun?"

"Yeah, one holster was empty."

"Okay then we have to assume that our suspect is armed. Get ready to

radio the driver again."

Five minutes later Scully returned. "He bought a ticket for the bus

heading for New Jersey, and she watched him board the bus."

Mulder looked in the guard's direction and nodded.

Bus Station

1:25 pm

Mulder's radio buzzed, "It's coming," came Lt. Mason's voice. Mulder

looked at Scully, she was stationed about 25 feet away from him on the

bench where Bryson had been hours earlier. He gave her a nod and

watched as she undid the strap on her gun holster. He did the same

and picked up a newspaper pretending to read it. He had told the Lt.

and the security guards to stay back as not to create a panic. He

reminded them this was still a full bus station and the people on the

bus had no idea what was going on.

Scully watched the bus pull up to the side. She watched as the angry

passengers got off one by one muttering things like "why didn't they

check the fuel" and "now I'm going to be late for my meeting." She

sighed. People if you only knew she thought. Suddenly a tall blonde

man exited the bus. She looked over at Mulder, who nodded and put

down his paper. She counted to herself one. . . two. . . three she got up

and followed Mulder toward Bryson.

Pierce looked around. Somehow he knew the cops were responsible

for this. He had to get away. He looked behind him, he was being

followed. He looked around desperately for a place to hide. He found

a place. It was an old storage room. It had some old bus seats and

some chairs stacked up against the side. He ran to both doors and

locked them. He then ducked behind a stack of seats, gun in hand.

"Where's he go, Mulder?"

"I don't know. He was just here. Wait, he may have ducked in here."

Mulder tried the door, it was locked. "Cover me." He then took his

gun out and switched the safety off. He heard Scully do the same as he

prepared to kick down the door.

Crash. The door swung open leaving pieces of wood and the lock on

the side of the wall. The room was empty. Mulder walked in followed

by Scully.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Bryson and what he was about

to do. "Mulder!" she screamed, but it was too late the stack of bus

seats came toppling down on the FBI agent. Pierce jumped on top of

the pile gun pointed at Scully. "Special Agent Dana Scully drop your

weapon," she heard herself say.

From under the pile Mulder tried crawling out. He had lost his gun

and felt like he had a broken or at least bruised rib. He finally cleared

the seats and stood up, diving forward and tackling Bryson.

Scully tried to shoot, but Mulder had gotten in the way of her gun.

Finally Bryson threw Mulder over his shoulder and, before Scully

could shoot, he took aim and fired.

"No!" Mulder screamed. He scrambled over to his partner only to see

a large pool of blood surrounding a wound in her side. He turned back

in Bryson's direction with a look that combined hatred, fear, and that

psychotic look he had when he had strangled Duane Barry. He

jumped to his feet and started in his direction.

The light bulb above him broke, throwing shards of glass everywhere.

Then a blue/white lightening beam snaked out and encircled Mulder's

body, weakening him, tearing through his insides, draining his very

essence. He cried out in agonizing pain.

Scully awoke to find herself in great pain. She heard screams that

weren't her own. She touched her side and found that she was

bleeding from a bullet wound. Memory flooded back as she

remembered standing in front of Bryson, not firing because Mulder

was in the way. I can't believe it, that SOB shot me. She shifted

slightly causing more pain. She realized that the screams belonged to

Mulder. Bryson was standing next to him hands curled into fists,

standing rigid, and eyes glaring. She looked around her surroundings

and saw her gun only a few feet away. She used her shoulder to crawl

and used her hands to apply pressure on the wound and try to stop the

bleeding. Only a few more inches. She reached out and clutched it in

her bloody hands. She held her breath and prepared for the pain that

was going to follow. She pulled herself up into a sitting position,

stretching her arms in front of her, took aim and fired.

Mulder felt himself dying. He had fallen on the floor and was starting

to see bright flashes of white light. He didn't even hear the gun-shot

or Bryson's cry of pain as he fell only a few feet away from Mulder.

He did, though, feel the lightning disperse and then felt his energy

start to return.

"Mulder?"

"Scully!" He turned around to see Scully propped up against a chair at

the other side of the room nursing the bullet wound. "You're okay!"

"I have been better." She shifted a little against the chair, winced,

then cried out in pain. "What about you?"

"Well. . . now I know what Luke felt like." She smiled. "Let me go

get you some help." He tried lifting himself, which took some time,

but he finally stood and limped over to the door. He reached down and

squeezed her shoulder," I'll be right back."

Bus Station

2:10 pm

Mulder watched as the ambulance took Scully away on a stretcher.

She turned her head until she was facing him, then whispered,"Hey

Mulder, keep the office neat while I'm gone." He smiled and squeezed

her hand. He would eventually follow, the doctors needed to check out

his burn marks.

Lt. Mason came up behind him. "Agent Mulder, a report came back

on our friend. It seems he escaped from a local mental institution

three days ago."

"Why was he there?"

The Lt. flipped through the report,"When he was eight years old his

parents were killed by a serial killer right in front of him. He would

have been killed also had not a police officer come by and shot the

guy. He was placed with his aunt and uncle. They claimed that the

boy was never the same, constantly angry. He put his fist through

their car window when he was ten. Shortly after he turned thirteen he

disappeared for ten days-"

"Wait what do you mean disappeared?"

"There are no exact details, but when his aunt and uncle found him he

was naked, bruised, and could barely talk. He claimed he was taken by

aliens and was aboard their. . .uh. . . ship for that entire time, and was

being experimented on. There was no other proof to substantiate his

claim so his story went ignored. His aunt and uncle thought he was

just badly traumatized, they thought that someone associated with his

parents' death was responsible. But here is the familiar part, after he

was returned his aunt and uncle were mysteriously killed. It was

speculated that they were electrocuted to death, and the light bulbs

around them were shattered. When Bryson was questioned, he started

ranting on about aliens and an experiment done on him. The police

report says that he started pointing to his skull saying that he had

some kind of telekinesis. He said that there used to be a hole in his

head between his two eyes.

"Trepanning," Mulder muttered to himself.

"What's that?"

"Trepanning. It's a uh spiritual practice that rids you of the evil spirits

inside you. In ancient times trepanning was performed on live

patients suffering from fractured skulls, convulsions, insanity. Some

people who were trepanned claim to have telekinetic powers, some

even claim they could control people's thoughts."

"Yeah. . .well. . .um he was in such a bad mental state that he was

committed to the mental institution. The death of his aunt and uncle

was said to be caused by a kitchen electrocution, Bryson uninvolved in

it. So Bryson stayed in the institution for fourteen years. His mental

state never improving."

"Did he ever attempt to escape before?"

"According to the report no, but the night he did escape there was a

mysterious black-out at the institution. It was the only place in New

York City that lost power."

"Did anyone bother to look for fingerprints or broken wires or

anything?"

"The institution heads say that the wiring in the building is old and

pretty bad. In fact they were having someone come to fix the wiring in

a week. So do you have any idea about how this guy killed these

people?"

"You said that when he returned he had been trepanned right?"

"Yeah his aunt and uncle were so terrified that they had him go

through surgery to cover it up. Bryson claimed that it was and I quote

'the work of the aliens. They used a blue laser and cut right through

my head. They told me I'd have powers beyond human

comprehension."

"Well. . .um he seemed to keep it under control most of the time. It

must be when he gets angry he would use it. When he attacked me,"

an involuntary shiver made it's way down Mulder's back and his burn

marks started to hurt with the memory of that lightening beam circled

around him, killing him," I had fought with him a little while before. .

.before he shot Agent Scully," again he shivered, " I hit him pretty

hard in the face before he threw me to the floor, then when I saw what

he did to her. . .I wanted to kill him. . .I guess he must have saw it

coming and had gotten angry. That must have been the power he was

talking about, the one *they* gave him."

"Agent Mulder, you okay?"

"Huh? Oh I'm fine. He possessed telekinesis, something he

must have gained from being trepanned. He could move things easily,

but somehow it left his fingerprints almost as if he was actually

touching the object. If you have the circuit breakers dusted you'll most

likely find his fingerprints there." He brought the back of his hand up

to his face too cool off the burns. "He probably channeled the

electricity in the light sockets. The bulbs had to be broken so that he

could channel the power there. This must have had to take extreme

concentration, which is probably why he never saw Agent Scully with

her gun."

The Lt. was looking at him strangely. "Well we are going to conduct

an autopsy so that might give us some more answers. Anyway Agent

Mulder I want to thank you for helping us out on this case, we

probably could never have solved it without you and Agent Scully. It's

been a pleasure working with the both of you." He extended his hand

and Mulder took it.

"You're welcome Lt. Do you by any chance have a quarter I can

borrow, I need to call someone."

"Who your boss? Here."

"No, someone else." He took the quarter and headed towards the

phone. He inserted it and dialed as he thought of what he was going

to say.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mrs. Scully this is Fox Mulder..."

THE END


End file.
